Like so much of the rest of the world, Shaky Knees was put through the COVID-19 wringer. The 2020 festival was planned, announced and then canceled entirely.
But the festival returned to Central Park in Atlanta on Friday, bringing with it a breath of fresh fall festival air. This fall’s iteration of Shaky — which normally takes place in May and will return to that schedule in 2022 — kicked off its three-day run with a stacked, competitive schedule headlined by the legendary Foo Fighters, and underscored by performances from established contemporary stars like Mac DeMarco, St. Vincent and Ty Segall, and up-and-comers like Frankie and the Witch Fingers and The Alive.
As is always the case at Shaky Knees, the hardest part is deciding who to see when one band stacks against another, halfway across the event location at Central and Renaissance parks.
But, those decisions are part of what makes the Shaky experience so fun: There is more to see than time to see it. This year’s Shaky Knees features more than 60 bands on four stages.
Here’s how I approached it:
The day started bright and early. Here I come, Shaky! Wristbands, in a twist this year, can be procured from the box office’s new location on Piedmont at the Civic Center breezeway. A steady stream of concertgoers in fall festival fashion began to trickle in before the performances began.
Glove
The day’s music kicked off at noon, with a Peachtree stage performance from Tampa-based Glove. The upstart band’s sound bites with gothic soul, a gang of new traditionalists making music that straddles between modern punk and dark 80′s synth-pop a la New Order. Shaky Knees marks the first stop on a forthcoming tour, which they do a lot of.
“We’re a touring band. As soon as we started the band, we went on tour,” Brie Denicourt, drummer and singer, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in an interview after the set.
Ayron Jones
Playing under the afternoon sun on the Piedmont stage, guitarist Ayron Jones put the crowd through a set of rich tunes with varied influences of rock, hip-hop and soul. His sizzling guitar riffs and authentic vocals shined on standout tracks “Mercy” and “Take Me Away.”
The Alive
Among the day one standouts, the California-based trio The Alive commanded a larger presence than the Criminal Records stage that housed them. The Alive are young. Bastian Evans is just 16 on guitar and vocals, with brothers Kai & Manoa Neukermans, 17 and 13, on drums and bass. But for as young as the band may be, they cruised through driving, intricate rock songs with veteran ease. If you missed their Friday set, the band is playing again on Saturday at 1:45 p.m. on the larger Piedmont stage. Check out their new song “Mud,” a track that showcases in true California fashion the peril facing the earth’s oceans and the importance of environmentalism.
Talented and “woke,” we can get with that.
Frankie and the Witch Fingers
L.A.-based Frankie and the Witch Fingers inspired the day’s largest mosh pit on the Ponce de Leon stage. The up-and-coming garage-psych act never let up for a moment, with lead singer Dylan Sizemore and guitarist Josh Menashe tearing through guitar-heavy solos and crowd favorites like “Dracula Drug,” backs pressed against one another as the mosh pit went wild.
“We’re not a jam band, but we’re a band that jams,” Menashe told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in an interview after the set.
Cults
Shaky Knees marked Cult’s first live performance in almost three years. Led by guitarist Brian Oblivion and singer Madeline Follin, the New York-based veterans of indie-pop played a set mixing old hits like “Go Outside” and the newly minted gold hit “Always Forever,” currently a favorite among TikTok content creators. The band’s sound is dreamy, with shades of bubblegum bouncing into grittier, hazier and more atmospheric tones.
Of their return to Atlanta, Follin said they are glad to be back. “We’re veterans of the Clermont Lounge and Taqueria Del Sol,” she told the AJC.
“Alumnus,” Oblivion added.
Credit: Ryan Fleisher
Credit: Ryan Fleisher
Local H
Criminal Records stage for the win again, this time with Local H. The band had recently had to reschedule some shows due to COVID issues, so Shaky was fortunate to have them. The rockers found their groove with the crowd, with an impressive level of consistency. They even teased The Beatle’s “Helter Skelter,” which was a real crowd-pleaser for old and new alike.
Credit: Ryan Fleisher
Credit: Ryan Fleisher
Ty Segall & Freedom Band
Attracting the daytime’s largest crowd, Ty Segall took to the Ponce de Leon stage as the afternoon sun gave way to a blue-grey dusk. Segall delivered on his reputation for loud, energetic live shows, playing a mix of deeper cuts, and new music from his surprise 2021 album Harmonizer. Backed by the Freedom Band — Ben Boye, Mikal Cronin, Emmett Kelley and Charles Moothart — the show brought a heavy, intensely guitar-powered energy underscored by pulsing synthesizers and sonic fuzz.
Mac DeMarco
This is not the first time Canadian-born singer-songwriter Mac DeMarco has played Shaky, but it certainly was his best performance at the festival. His charisma was infectious as he played along with the audience and performed a set consisting full of his classic hits, including, “Salad Days,” “Blue Boy,” “Ode to Viceroy” and “Let Her Go.”
St. Vincent
Annie Clark, known as St. Vincent, began her Shaky Knees evening set to an audience buzzing with excitement. She walked on stage after her band, dressed in gogo boots and a red vintage ensemble, true to her stylish reputation.
Credit: Ryan Fleisher
Credit: Ryan Fleisher
St. Vincent played a slew of hits from her latest album “Daddy’s Home”, including the album’s title track, “Down,” “Pay Your Way in Pain” and “The Melting of the Sun.”
Foo Fighters
It goes without saying, the Foo Fighters attracted the biggest audience of the night as Shaky Knees’ Friday night headliner. The legendary band started the evening with a slow rendition of “Times Like These” before Dave Grohl engaged the cheering audience asking “Do you like rock and roll music? Do you want some rock and roll music?” They then blasted into hits, including “The Pretender” and “Learn to Fly.” After a few more songs, the band broke out into alter ego Dee Gees for a funky take on the Bee Gees’ “You Should Be Dancing.”
Then, the band played musical chairs when drummer Taylor Hawkins came out to center stage as Grohl manned the drums, the instrument he famously played in Nirvana. Hawkins’ song of choice? A rendition of Queen’s “Somebody to Love.” The cover showcased just how multitalented, tight-knit and savvy this group of rock and roll veterans truly are.
As the Foo Fighters played the night’s closing songs, “Best of You,” “Monkey Wrench” and “Everlong,” the feeling in the air was downright spiritual. The crowd chanted along as the night came to a close.
- Check back on Saturday at AJC.com for more photos from Friday’s performances.
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